April days were sunnier and slightly warmer than expected

Some glorious spring weather arrived in April, with the sun shining for an average of 8.6 hours daily. The Met Office said that temperatures hit a maximum of 24.5°C on the 15th and 16th of April.

April days were generally both slightly warmer and sunnier than expected at this time of year. The Met Office added that at 16.4°C, the mean air temperature was 0.3°C higher than the climatic norm, while the mean sea temperature was 0.5°C higher than the expected 16.1°C.

No less than 250.8 hours of sunshine accompanied the warm temperatures, and a mean cloud cover of 3.4 oktas. The 15th of April was a particularly bright day, during which the sun shone for a 12.3 hours.

There was a mixture of rain and shine, as 14 rainy days were recorded during the month. However, the total rainfall produced, namely 12.8 mm, was 8 mm lower than the total expected for April.

The Met Office said that one thunderstorm was experienced during the night of the 21st of April, with the temperature dipping to a lowest minimum of 8.9°C on the next day.

Visibility was reduced at times due to dust in suspension reported between the 26th and 29th of April, there was no fog recorded for the month.